Chinese president Xi Jinping wants to put a stop to China’s bizarre building syndrome. Here are the most outlandish oddities that have appeared so far. He’s fed up of phallic towers, had enough of space-age blobs and is really rather cross about architects scattering novelty shapes across his great cities with reckless abandon. China’s president, Xi Jinping, has called for an end to the light-headed lunacy of weird buildings that have been spawned by the country’s construction boom over the last decade, crowding out skylines with enormous golden eggs and big pairs of pants.
In a two-hour speech at a literary symposium in Beijing last week, Xi said that art should serve the people, and called for morally-inspiring architecture that should “be like sunshine from the blue sky and the breeze in spring that will inspire minds, warm hearts, cultivate taste and clean up undesirable work styles.” Over the last few years, China’s accelerated urban growth, paired with the emergence of a billionaire business class keen to make its mark, has created a fertile playground for western architects. Lured by the scale of ambition and sheer speed of building, they have been allowed to indulge in fantasies they could never get away with back home, egged on by cut-price construction costs and safely distanced from the cruel realities of migrant labour conditions.
Cities have also seen the results of a newly liberated home-grown creative class, allowed to unleash its talents on a scale never seen before. The state-owned architectural institutes have also been infected with a taste for the iconic and exotic, while provincial business magnates continue to do their thing with brassy flair. Take a look at some of the strangest species this warp-speed architectural laboratory has produced:
SPACE EGGS - National Centre for the Performing Arts, Beijing
Galaxy Soho, Beijing
Henan Art Centre, Zhengzhou
Phoenix Island, Hainan
Linda Haiyu Plaza, Beijing
OBJECTECTURE - Tianzi Hotel, Hebei
Wuliangye Yibin building, Sichuan
Mobile phone building, Kunming
Piano and violin building, Huainan
Meitan Tea Museum, Guizhou
Teapot building, Wuxi
Lotus building, Wujin
Olympic Park, Anhui
Guangzhou Circle
GATEWAYS - Ring of Life, Fushun
Sheraton Hotel, Huzhou
Gate of the Orient, Suzhou
CCTV headquarters, Beijing
No more ugly buildings, let architects do their job, cadres told
In the headlong rush toward urbanization, China has developed a building complex resulting in many grand monuments, some edgy, some bold and some kitschy. But one province would have no more ugly buildings. To that end, cadres in Anhui have been told by the provincial government not to let their personal preference interfere with the design of public buildings and to respect the professionalism of architects, Xinhua News Agency reported over the weekend.
Anhui was in the spotlight in 2007 for a government building modeled after the US Capitol in an impoverished district in Fuyang city. And questions and eyebrows were raised in 2011 over the design of an Olympic park in Huainan city that sports four venues shaped like a football, American football, volleyball and basketball. The proposed hotel in the 1.8 billion yuan (US$292 million) park takes the form of a table tennis bat.
Elsewhere in China, the Fang Yuan Building — in the shape of a giant ancient Chinese coin — in Shenyang, Liaoning province, was once listed by CNN as one of the world’s 10 ugliest buildings. In Suzhou, Jiangsu province, the US$746 million Gate of the East has been likened to a pair of long johns.The capital Beijing could not be outdone. As architectural wonders go, the People’s Daily headquarters should take the piss when fully erected.
Fuyang’s government office building is modeled after the US Capitol
Fang Yuan Building in Shenyang, Liaoning province, features the shape of a coin
The Gate of the East (left) takes pride of place in Suzhou, Jiangsu province. The People’s Daily headquarters (right) takes shape in Beijing
The Daohuaxiang Liquor building (left) in Yichang, Hubei province, and the Wuliangye Yibin building in Yibin, Sichuan province, are in the shape of liquor bottles
A rendering of Huainan’s Olympic park shows what games would be played in which venue
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Xi Jinping calls for end to "weird architecture"
China president Xi Jinping on Wednesday called for an end to "weird architecture", a product of the construction boom in the country which has drawn architects from all over the world.
Some unconventional and costly buildings there have sparked controversy, drawing criticisms of unappealing aesthetics and wasted public funds, reported AFP.
While some China netizens support Xi's call for "no more weird architecture", others have also voiced concerns that this might further curtail artistic freedom.
Beijing Tianzi (Emperor) Hotel in Langfang, Hebei
Wuliangye Building in Yibin, Sichuan
People's Daily headquarters in Beijing
Fangyuan Mansion in Shenyang, Liaoning
China Central Television's headquarters in Beijing
Wuhan Energy Flower in Wuhan, Hubei
Guangzhou Circle in Guangzhou, Guangdong
Beijing National Stadium in Beijing
Hisayoshi Centre in Shanghai
Pangu 7 Star Hotel in Beijing
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The End of China’s ‘Weird’ Architecture
The government is cutting down on the country’s more bizarre buildings, which for years aimed to flaunt its wealth and cosmopolitan tastes.
A bird’s nest, a boot, an egg, a coin, a pair of trousers—some of China’s most infamous contemporary buildings resemble everyday objects more than edifices. Intentionally unorthodox and frequently nonsensical, several of these architectural curiosities have been hailed as marvels, while others have been ridiculed (the penis-shaped headquarters for the People’s Daily newspaper is a particularly noteworthy example). But regardless of the debatable success of their designers’ ambitions, they collectively embody China’s desire to assert its superpower status with extraordinary architecture.
Until now. Due to a recent announcement issued by the country’s State Council and the Communist Party’s Central Committee, “oversized, xenocentric, weird” buildings will no longer be approved for construction. The directive, which also bans gated communities, emphasizes a move away from the design excesses of the mostly Western architects who’ve long populated China’s skyline with imaginative steel and glass visions that could never have been sanctioned in their home countries. As the New York architect Steven Holl told The New York Times Magazine in 2008, “In America, I could never do work like I do here. We’ve become too backward-looking. In China, they want to make everything look new. This is their moment in time. They want to make the 21st century their century.”
Beijing's National Grand Theater, also called the "Giant Egg," was built for the 2008 Olympics.JASON LEE / REUTERS
Beijing’s China Central Television headquarters (a.k.a the “Giant Underpants”), designed by Rem Koolhaus and Ole Sheeren (Greg Baker / AP)
The Guangzhou Circle, designed by the Italian architect Joseph di Pasquale (Alex Lee / Reuters)
Wuxi's teapot-shaped cultural exhibition hall (Carlos Barria / Reuters)
The Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid’s blob-like Galaxy Soho in Beijing, which houses offices, shops, and entertainment venues (Jason Lee / Reuters)
Police patrol the Bird’s Nest. (Elizabeth Dalziel / AP)
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China ‘waterfall’ skyscraper, which costs US$120 per hour to run, attracts torrent of ridicule
A skyscraper in southwest China that boasts what its owner calls the world’s largest man-made waterfall has become the latest example of over-the-top architecture to draw national ridicule. The tower in the city of Guiyang was built with a spectacular 108-metre (350-feet) cascade tumbling down its face — but cash flow could prove a problem for the ostentatious design.
Although the Liebian International Building is not yet finished, the water feature was completed two years ago. However it has only been turned on six times, with the owners blaming the high cost — 800 yuan (US$120) per hour — of pumping water to the top of the 121-metre-high structure.
Constructed by the Ludi Industry Group, the building will house a shopping mall, offices and a luxury hotel. Its signature artificial waterfall uses runoff, rainwater and groundwater collected in giant underground tanks.
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New skyscraper in China has a 350-foot waterfall cascading down its facade
How do you turn a functioning skyscraper into an architectural folly? Easy. Just add a 350-foot waterfall to its facade. The Liebian Building in Guiyang, China, features a massive waterfall that appears to pour out of its windows and cascade down the glassy facade into a pool below.
The man-made water feature is as impractical as it sounds. According to The Times, the waterfall draws from water in a large tank on the ground floor that takes up to two hours to fill. Four pumps suck the water 350 feet up into the air before spilling it out over the side of the building. The cost of electricity to run such a visual treat? Around $118 an hour.
After residents questioned the environmental impact of the spectacle, the building’s owners clarified that the waterfall is sourced from recycled rain and tap water and will only be on for “special occasions.”
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China 'waterfall' skyscraper hit by torrent of ridicule
A skyscraper in southwest China that boasts what its owner calls the world's largest man-made waterfall has become the latest example of over-the-top architecture to draw national ridicule.
The tower in the city of Guiyang was built with a spectacular 108-metre cascade tumbling down its face - but cash flow could prove a problem for the ostentatious design.
Although the Liebian International Building is not yet finished, the water feature was completed two years ago.
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Chinese university building butt of jokes
China has another entry when it comes to buildings that look suspiciously like something else - a 12-storey university block strongly resembling a giant toilet.
Architects have had a field day in China in recent years with a number of outlandish designs springing up across the country.
The latest is a building on the campus of North China University of Water Resources and Electric Power in Zhengzhou in the central province of Henan.
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China's CCTV Headquarters Trying to Shake "Hemorrhoids" Nickname
China cultural fun fact: People here love giving nicknames to buildings. With all the avante-garde architecture around, sometimes the nicknames are less than complimentary. The new CCTV building is now trying hard to not be known as "Hemorrhoids."
The China Central Television headquarters is a 6.45 million square foot complex that involves twin leaning towers connected by two massive sections in midair. Designed by Rem Koolhaas, it's an amazing feat of engineering and architecture. But when CCTV proposed that they call it Zhichuang (meaning Knowledge Window), Chinese netizens saw its homophone, "Hemorrhoids." CCTV is now scrambling to find a different nickname to call the building, and have bandied about things like "Harmonious Gate," "New Angle" or "Future Window." Chinese netizens, always happy to help out, have offered their suggestions of "Big Underpants," "Wild Man," and "Slanting Stride."
The current squabble is reminiscent of how the Beijing National Center for the Performing Arts got its nickname. French architects had envisioned a pearl rising from the water. Chinese people thought it looked like a big duck egg, a slang term for "zero." [Danwei]
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British-designed skyscraper resembles big pants, say angry Chinese
The Gate of the Orient in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, China - a new 300m tall dual skyscraper that is joined at the top - has been ridiculed because it looks like a pair of long underpants. But even before the 74-storey Gate to the East is complete it has come under attack from critics who compare it not to the famous Parisian war memorial but to a pair of “giant underpants”.
Located in Suzhou, 45 miles west of Shanghai, the 270 yard-high skyscraper is the work of British architecture practice RMJM, founded in Edinburgh in 1956 by Sir Robert Matthew and Stirrat Johnson-Marshall. According to the company bankrolling the project, Suzhou Chinaing Real Estate Co, the Gate to the East will be completed later this year becoming the largest gate-shaped structure in the world.
“The Gate to the East introduces a dramatic iconic 'gateway’ to the city of Suzhou and represents the significance of the China in the world today,” says a description on RMJM’s website. The company is a leading global architecture force with offices across the globe including London, New York, Dubai, Moscow and Shanghai.
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RMJM skyscraper dubbed 'big pants' by Chinese – Telegraph
Update 6 September 2012: RMJM have sent an official response to our story, saying "While some critics view the unfinished skeleton as a laughable pair of low-rise jeans, the gateway is a far cry from a joking matter." For the full statement, scroll down to the comments section or click here.
The two-legged Gate to the East tower, which is due to be completed by the end of the year, has come under attack from Chinese media outlets and bloggers. "Is it an arch or just plain pants?" asked a recent front page of the Shanghai Daily, while the state-run news agency Xinhua quoted a Chinese blogger who wrote: “Why does China look like the playground of foreign designers with laughable architecture ideas?”
The 300 metre high RMJM skyscraper has been billed by the architects as an "iconic gateway" to Suzhou, 45 miles west of Shanghai.
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Building in Zhengzhou Resembles CCTV's "Big Pants"
A Building in Zhengzhou, Central China's Henan province, attracted people's attention for resembling China Central Television's new headquarters, or "big pants," in Beijing. [Photo: CFP]
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